Championship leader Max Verstappen admitted that he wasn't surprised to come out second best to Lewis Hamilton in Friday evening's qualifying session in Sao Paulo.
The Mercedes driver was quickest in all three rounds and ended up with a a hefty 0.438s advantage over Verstappen and the rest of the field at the end of Q3. But Verstappen said this was to be expected in the circumstances.
“When they take a new engine, naturally, they have a bit more power for a weekend," he explained."For me it’s not a big shock.”
It had been confirmed earlier in the day that Mercedes had opted to fit a new engine in Hamilton's car, meaning that he will incur a five place grid penalty for Sunday's race.
But that didn't affect today's qualifying session, and will also not be a factor in tomorrow afternoon's sprint race which will Hamilton start at the front alongside Verstappen, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez on row 2.
“I’m just happy to to be second, that’s a good position to start from,” Verstappen commented. “Of course you always want to be closer, but sometimes you just have to be realistic. There wasn't much more in it.”
While no points are awarded for qualifying, a reduced number of points are handed out to the top three in the sprint race. Even so, Verstappen's eyes remained fixed on the main prize of the weekend.
“There are not that many points, of course, to gain in the sprint race,” he said. "I hope to have a good first lap and see from there. Then of course the most important one is on on Sunday.”
The outcome of the sprint race will set the starting order for the Grand Prix where Hamilton's penalty will be applied. Verstappen is hoping that changing weather conditions will work in Red Bull's favour and help him extend his current 19 point lead over Hamilton in the drivers standings.
“It'll be completely different, it’s going to be a lot warmer,” he suggested. “That will change the behaviour of the car as well, so we’ll see.”
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